Presidential Inauguration Day: For citizens of the U.S. and most other democracies, the event signifies either a peaceful transfer of power to another administration or the opportunity for a re-elected president to make cabinet changes. But in Venezuela, this year’s presidential inauguration day, Jan. 10, was mired in controversy.

Poli sci professor Javier Corrales commented on the state of Venezuela’s economy in this piece that ran in the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. “As the government’s popularity declines, quite significantly, its institutional control has risen,” he said. “In terms of a functioning economic market, this is a market in decline. It’s remarkable how much capital flight there has been. And it’s because of the arbitrary policies of the government.”

“The government is facing the highest degree of unpopularity since 2003,” said political science professor Javier Corrales about this fall’s Venezuelan elections in a lengthy piece. “But at the same time, it has acquired more mechanisms to protect its stranglehold on power. The government always finds a way to contain it, and this election is no exception.”

Huffington Post: Chaos in Caracas

“This could very well be a turning point in the direction of authoritarianism,” political science professor Javier Corrales was quoted as saying in this column about recent attempts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to squelch opposition in the country. “At this point, Venezuela could become much more militarized and its political system more autocratic.”

AMHERST, Mass.—It is critical that the United States develop a counter-strategy to the “social power” diplomacy deployed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his government, but a hard-line response—such as military or economic aggression—is most certainly not the answer to Chavez’s rhetoric, Amherst College’s Javier Corrales, professor of political science, told a House Committee on Foreign Affairs subcommittee recently.